What to Expect When Becoming a “Sidepreneur”

February 16, 2016

As many of our readers know, starting your own business can prove to be a difficult task. Some of us jump in at once, quitting the full time job and working day and night to get a new company running. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those of us who may have a great business idea, but legitimate financial needs prevent us from diving in head first. These entrepreneurs opt to start a small business on the side while maintaining a 9-5 gig. If you are a person who identifies with the second idea, you would be someone that is referred to as a “sidepreneur,” which is someone who works full-time and runs a side business part-time.

One of the major benefits of being a sidepreneur is security. Individuals who quit their 9-5 and use their new business as a main source of income run the risk of finding themselves on hard times. It can cause a lot stress, especially if you don’t have a fall back plan. Sidepreneurs, though hard at work with two jobs, have a little more financial security. If their side venture does well, they benefit from a little extra income and resources that they can put back into growing their business.

Financial security aside, there are difficulties involved with starting a business – even one that you manage on the side. Here are some of the challenges sidepreneurs can expect to face, and how to overcome them.

Time Management
Between working 40 hours a week, eating and sleeping, you are left little time in the day to run a business. If you work a normal 9-5, you will only have late nights and weekends to run your business, which can be extremely difficult times to do so. Being a sidepreneur requires a lot of dedication and organization on your part, which means that most of your leisure time will be put towards more productive activities. If you are willing to sacrifice some of your time and hobbies right now to get your business up and running, you can sit back and enjoy the profits in the long run. Automate any and everything you can. Social media schedulers like Hootsuite will help with marketing, and inventory tracking software will take care of tedious back end processes. Content marketing is essential to getting your business the traffic and visibility it needs. Freelance out some work to get fresh content on your blog. Contently and Writer Access are both good places to check.

Lack of Motivation
When you are running a business part-time, you might find yourself treating your side business like a hobby, rather than something that can turn into a serious company. Always keep in mind that if this business is something that you really want and you are selling a product/service that you truly believe in, then you should put in as much effort as possible. Carve out blocks of time each week to focus on why you started this business and get back some of the creativity you may have lost along the way. Create a mood board to help visualize your goals for this new venture, join meetups to talk with other fresh entrepreneurs and create a Pinterest to help you track ideas you’d like to implement into your company.

Being a sidepreneur can prove to be just as difficult as being a full time entrepreneur. But if you fully commit youself, you will see major success with your company.